Tongue & Lip Tie

Learn about tongue and lip-tie.

Dr. Bob Provides Gentle Treatment for a Tongue-Tie and Lip-Tie

A tongue-tie and lip-tie is a common condition that effects nearly 1 in 10 newborns. The condition restricts tongue movement, and can impede a newborn from adequately nursing. If left untreated, a tongue-tie and lip-tie can lead to other disease, and can affect how facial muscles develop.

Luckily, a tongue-tie and lip-tie can be easily treated, and treatment can be nearly painless with a WaterLase iPlus Laser.

What is a Tongue-tie and lip-tie?

A tongue-tie and lip-tie is a common condition that is sometimes overlooked at birth, which can cause more serious issues down the road. Essentially, a tongue-tie and lip-tie is when a child’s frenulum is too short, which can restrict movement of the tongue and lips, and can interfere with normal swallowing. The frenulum is the small fibrous attachment that connects the tongue to the floor of the mouth, and the lips to the gums.

Symptoms and Signs of Tongue-tie and lip-tie

Most of the times, a child’s tongue-tie and lip-tie is diagnosed a few days after birth. The largest indicator is that they have difficulty latching when nursing, or if the mother experiences painful nursing sessions. However, some signs aren’t as obvious.

An infant with tongue-tie and lip-tie may display the following symptoms:

Shallow latch

Poor weight gain or weight loss

Clicking or gulping sounds while nursing

Gumming, chewing nipples, leaks milk due to inability to form latch

Frequently releases

Infant has nursing ulcer on lip

Long nursing sessions, falls asleep mid feed

Colic/Gas/Reflux

If your child exhibits any of the symptoms above, then visit our office in South Miami. A child with a tongue-tie and lip-tie could develop potential speech and dental problems, including cavities, but a qualified pediatric dentist like Dr. Bob can easily treat a child with a tongue-tie and lip-tie.

Tongue-tie and Lip-tie Treatment – a Frenectomy

A frenectomy is the most common treatment for a child diagnosed with a tongue-tie and lip-tie, and it is simply the removal of the frenulum so that the tongue and lips can function normally. The procedure typically takes less than a minute, and can be done in a variety of ways. At Dr. Bob Pediatric Dentist, we use a state-of-the-art WaterLase iPlus Laser to make the process as gentle as possible.

Our WaterLase iPlus Laser makes it Easy

At Dr. Bob Pediatric Dentist, we care about the comfort of our young patients and want to ensure that they get quality dental care without anxiety or pain. This is precisely why we use the WaterLase iPlus Laser to treat young patients with a tongue-tie and lip-tie. A laser frenectomy is far superior to a traditional surgery in many ways because the laser uses concentrated light and water to cut a cauterize the frenulum.

Because we provide laser frenectomies with the WaterLase iPlus Laser:

It’s virtually pain-free.

Requires no sutures or anesthesia, which is important for infant care.

The entire procedure only takes only one to two minutes.

There is a much lower risk of infection.

It causes very little bleeding

Provides for a shorter healing and recovery time.

While most patients have an easy recovery, some have different experiences. You can contact our office if your child is experiencing oral pain or discomfort after having a frenectomy.

Who Needs a Frenectomy?

A frenectomy should only be performed if multiple symptoms are present. There are multiple patients that have shortened frenula, but are able to nurse fine and develop without issue. However, we advise consulting with our office so that we can properly diagnose a tongue-tie and lip-tie, and provide a treatment plan from there.

It’s important to note that not only infants can undergo frenectomies, and that a lot of children may benefit from a frenectomy.

Frenectomy Recovery Time

The WaterLase iPlus Laser drastically reduces frenectomy recovery time, and most patients remain pain-free through recovery. Additionally, the laser encourages healing of the tissues in the mouth, which helps the recovery process.

Dr. Bob the Pediatric Dentist Treats Tongue-tie and Lip-ties

Dr. Bob has performed hundreds of frenectomies on children with a tongue-tie and lip-tie. Our state-of-the-art WaterLase iPlus laser makes a frenectomy easy for children, and most of our patients don’t even notice that they’re undergoing a discreet oral procedure. We’re proud to use the WaterLase iPlus Laser, because it helps our young patients enjoy dental care, rather than reject it.

As pediatric dentists, we focus on preventive care to help each child have a healthy smile that will last a lifetime. It’s our pleasure to serve infants, children, teens, and special needs patients in South Miami, Fl and the surrounding cities of Coral Gables, Pinecrest, and Ft. Lauderdale, Fl.